Simplicity

by Joel Davidow

CILT 07 Class Speaker, Graduation June 23, 2007

I have only a few minutes, so I’ll just touch briefly on a vast subject: simplicity.

We are enmeshed in a complicated and tangled net.

We live in a social setting ringing with pandemonium. We have the “information superhighway”, mobile phones, email, itunes, PDAs, cable TV, junk mail, spam, traffic jams, political logjams, neo-Orwellian administrations, and celebrity infatuation.

We have lots of organizations including NGOs, 527s, 501(c)(3)s, 501(c)(4)s, foundations, coalitions, and lobbying firms.

We also have many layers of government. We have local government, with about 58 home-rule cities and about 28 home-rule towns in Colorado. We have 64 counties that act as agents of the state. There are special districts scattered about for fire, water, sanitation, and parks. We have 14 regional planning entities like Dr. Cog. We have state government with TABOR, Amendment 23, Gallagher, the 6% limit, Ref C, de-Brucing, and Blue Ribbon commissions. Seems there’s a fair number of blue ribbons under the gold dome – if we had Pabst in Golden instead of Coors then maybe the state beer would be PBR! We have interstate agreements, such as the 9 water compacts covering water in Colorado and 9 other states. We have the federal government, providing laws through the legislative process, regulations with the force of law through the functions of the executive, rulings handed down by courts, and treaties creating binding arrangements with other nations.

These are but some of the things on our plate; if each of these were a single layer of cake, we’d have a healthy surplus of dessert!

All these entities and arrangements are constructed by people in efforts to improve individual lives, foster civil relations among communities, and provide a philosophic framework in which to live. Because they are created by people, these entities and arrangements reflect both the aspirations and imperfections of their human builders. Our nation, for example, declared independence with sweet language on the rights of man yet our beloved republic was constituted on the bitter practice of slavery.

To unravel our own web woven by our aspirations but knotted by our imperfections, we must first reach an understanding of ourselves that transcends ourselves. Sounds tricky. You see, to arrive at the simple, you must first pass through the complex. But how can we get through all the complications and tangles to simplicity?

One path through the convoluted maze can be blazed by developing awareness. Allow me to walk you a few steps into developing your own awareness.

Most of us emerged into the world upside-down and naked and then followed a path of physical growth and development with clear biologically-defined phases. But our metaphysical growth and development – though intimately related to our physical growth and development – is much more opaque, subtle, and intricate.

From the physical brain emerges the metaphysical mind, with amazing powers arising from a fundamental spark of creativity. You can nurture that spark and conjure personal courage to extend your understanding of yourself. If you’re like most folks I talk with, you’re probably saying to yourself just about now “What is he talking about?” Here’s an example. Were you ever afraid of the dark as a child? If so, how is it that you lost that fear? How that change occurred might provide clues on how you can outgrow other fears. Here’s another example. How is it that role models inspire you? If you can get an idea of how you’re motivated then you might apply those ideas to make changes that you desire in yourself. These types of exercises can help you develop an interactive and dynamic relationship with your own mind. Then you can move more skillfully through the pandemonium and complexity surrounding you, even though you will still be subjected to its forces. It’s like being a captain of a square-rigged ocean-going wooden ship of yore, whose ship is subjected to the vagaries of the sea; but, with skill, the captain can maneuver the ship safely and to purpose.

How does a captain sail a ship through a storm? How can you move more skillfully through outside forces pressing in upon you? One way is to have your own awareness of the storm or of those outside forces. For example, in a water glass, you can see the water level. Is the glass half-empty or half-full? The standard story goes that if you say half-full - you’re an optimist but if you say half-empty - you’re a pessimist. The trick is the question, which - to borrow from Lakoff – “frames” the answer in terms of the water that you can see. However, if you also look at the glass with your mind, then you realize that there’s air you can’t see above the water. That realization can allow you to picture the glass as full – partly with liquid water, partly with gaseous air. And that picture escapes the “frame” in which the question tried to constrain your perspective.

Here’s another way of using awareness to escape from the constraints of outside forces. Imagine that you’re in a stressful situation. Nothing seems to be going right. You feel lots of pressure. What do you do? 2 weeks ago, I was in that boat. Let me tell you what I did. I had just pulled into Monterey on the coast of California. I walked down to the end of the street, passing up all the shops and restaurants on Cannery Row, and walked out onto a little beach tucked into a dense, touristy part of town. I sat down on a rock, took a deep breath, and gazed out on the water. For a few minutes I dwelt in a world older and more perfected than the constructions of man. In those few minutes I was able to slip the surly bonds of our complicated and tangled net to relish the deeper wonders of life on earth and simply Be.

Let me share with you a bit of the simplicity I experienced on that beach. The oxygen is thick and rich here at sea level and the morning air is cool. A thin grey foggish sky hovers out over the bay, dissolving softly into blue. Sea otters glide smoothly through swaying lush green kelp offshore. The rhythmic ocean waters sound like breathing swelling in over the rocks and running up the coarse yellow sand, which is scattered with glistening pungent seaweeds in all manners of purples dotted by some greens and shades of brown. Seals sleep as though they are part of the rocks. Gulls preen, dive, and sleep with their heads turned back, resting on their shoulders and tucked beneath a pillow of feathers.

That beach is an edge of earth, a bit of the intertidal, alive and always in motion – a thick slowly churning salty Beauty… Our lives are like that little beach. We can get caught up in the hustle and bustle going on around us. Or we can carve out little moments, slip the “frame” of that hustle and bustle, and give ourselves a chance to experience the power of simple Beauties. Then we just may be able to approach our complicated and tangled net from a different point of view and begin to build our shared, constructed world anew.

Thank you.